The 12th Shenyang (Faku) Wulong Mountain Grape Festival was held in Dingjiafang town, Shenyang city on Aug 29, marking the start of a month-long grape promotion fair.

Dingjiafang is the main center for grape planting in Shenyang, and it enjoys a reputation for being the hometown of grape growing in the northern part of Liaoning province.

Currently, Dingjiafang plants dozens of grape varieties such as jufeng, xiyanghong, jinmeigui and xiahei. The annual output of grapes in the town is around 10,000 tons, and the majority of them are sold to Liaoning, Jinlin, Heilongjiang and Beijing.

This year’s grape festival was themed around expanding internet marketing channels. The festival was expected to promote Faku county’s grape brands and improve its market competitiveness.

As of early 2016, Dingjiafang started to make use of online marketing platforms to boost grape sales. The town cooperated with 10 e-commerce platforms and courier companies, lowering the cost of sales by cutting out some of the intermediaries, according to Zhou Wenjie, an official from Dingjiafang.

The next step for Dingjiafang is to expand its share of the grape market in big cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou, which are far away from Shenyang, Zhou added.

As for local marketing, the town plans to combine grape planting with agricultural sightseeing, giving local residents the opportunity to sample grape picking.

A farmer displays his grapes at the 12th Shenyang (Faku) Wulong Mountain Grape Festival in Dingjiafang town, Shenyang city on Aug 29. [Photo/Chinanews.com]

Different varieties of grapes compete for the “best grape” award at the 12th Shenyang (Faku) Wulong Mountain Grape Festival in Dingjiafang town, Shenyang city on Aug 29. [Photo/Chinanews.com]